Sempiternal - Bring Me The Horizon
Sempiternal begins the stretch of albums that caused me to step away from Bring Me the Horizon, as I wasn’t a fan of their sound at the time. I remember feeling like they had “sold out” and had gone too soft (yeah, I was one of those guys saying “I miss the old BMTH”). Revisiting Sempiternal 13 years later taught me that I was completely wrong about this album. The record is a lot heavier than I remembered, with way more screaming than I expected. In my head, I had this notion that the album was mostly clean vocals with next to no screaming. I’d even go as far as saying that Oli’s vocals are better here than they were on There Is a Hell! Oli manages to find his voice with the clean vocals (no longer doing that shout/sing thing from the past two records) while balancing it with stellar screams.
I was surprised to find that Sempiternal sounds like a direct sequel to There Is a Hell, which is clearer to see after listening to both albums so close together. Sempiternal takes all the right lessons from There Is a Hell, but elevates it, making it one of the most influential modern Metalcore albums of the 2010s – a sound that countless bands would try to emulate for years to come. The album explores similar themes and sounds, with many songs exploring anti-religious concepts and the continued use of string instruments/an orchestra helping shape the overall sound. Sempiternal does have its own identity, though. The record blends countless genres to set it above the rest (Pop, Metalcore, Electronic, etc.) - a feat the band would master over the years. Much of the electronic sound that is prevalent on this record can be credited to the addition of Jordan Fish, a key contributor to not only the composition of Sempiternal, but the next several Bring Me the Horizon records. While this heightened electronic presence is key to the sound of the record, there is no denying the importance of the drumming and guitar playing. The guitar writing isn’t overly complicated for much of the record, but there is a non-stop feeding of memorable and iconic riffs that would be copied by others in the genre for years to come. The drumming has a bouncy groove for most of the record, giving it a Pop feel at times, but it blends nicely with the Metal writing and helps achieve what I would argue is now the signature Bring Me the Horizon sound.
I personally believe that Sempiternal should be enjoyed from top to bottom of the tracklist, but I still want to take the time to call out my favorite tracks so you can jump right in. “Can You Feel My Heart” is a great intro song that combines several elements that are heavily featured throughout the rest of the record. The song continues to build on its repeated electronic base while Oli’s vulnerable lyrics and vocals rise with the action. “The House of Wolves” is a heavy anti-religion track with a catchy chorus, crushing screams, a badass Metalcore riff, and a brutal outro that will make your ears perk up. “Shadow Moses” may have been memed to death with “this is sandpit turtle”, but the track doesn’t deserve it. The mostly vocal-driven rising intro leads into one of the most memorable modern Metalcore verses of the decade, perfect for opening a mosh pit (it sure did back in 2013 when I saw them during Warped Tour in Camden!). Finally, “Antivist” is a heavy rebellion anthem about activists not getting off their couches to enact change and how they need to take to the streets and practice what they preach. The riff is another modern classic that is still copied. Across these songs (and really all the songs on the record), countless catchy choruses beg to be belted out in an arena setting, or your shower at the very least!
Oli has talked about how this album was created as an apology to the band for the reckless behavior and substance abuse issues he was having up to this point. He felt he owed the band by writing the “best record ever”. I won’t sit here and claim this is the best record ever, but I will say that the apology was worth it, as Sempiternal was the record that put the band on the map and made them a household name, paving the way for their continued success.